Electrical contact



July 7, 1936. c GILBERT 2,046,509

. ELECTRICAL CONTACT Filed NOV. 18, 1953 iNVENTOR' CHARLES E. GILBERT BMEQXOW W ATTORNEY bolts or other rigid attaching means.

' fastenings,

Patented July 7, 1936' ELEosL CONTACT CharlesE. Gilbert, New York, N. Y. Application November s, 1933, Serial No. 698,572 5 Claims. (01. 173-361) This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in electrical contact elements for electrical connectors such as plugs, sockets, and the like, or other electrical devices.

The contact elements in common use are ordinarily attached to the connector body by rivets,

Furthermore, they are usually provided with binding screws or other equivalent devices by means of which the wires are attached after the insulation has been stripped therefrom.

This invention provides a contact element which may be assembled with the connector body simply by inserting it in a suitably shaped recess thus dispensing with all rivets, bolts, or other which although devoid of bindings, screws, or other wire connecting means requiring the use of tools can make and maintain perfect electrical contact with awire even through the insulation thereof, and which may be manufactured and assembled with the connector with great ease, speed and economy from a single piece" of conducting material.

The nature of the invention will be clearly umderstood by reference to the drawing, of which Figure l is a front view of one form of contact element;

Fig. 2 is a side view of recess of aconnector;

Fig. 3 is a front view of contact element of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4' is a front view of another form of contact element;

Fig. 5 is a side view of the element of Fig. 4 in position within a suitable recess of a connector o y;

Fig. 6 is a front view of still another form of the contact element; and

Fig. 7 is a side view of the element of Fig. 6.

The element shown in Fig. 1 is made of any suitable conducting material and consists of a blade I, the term blade being used herein in its broadest sense as designating that part of the contact element of whatever shape designed to connect with some other electrical device, a base portion 2 preferably integral with the blade; a tongue 3 terminating in a head t. Immediately below the free edge 5 of head 6 a slight clearance is provided to accommodate the electric wire, and the opposing edge 6 may be plain as shown in Fig. l or provided with serrations l as shown in Fig. 3. Also the clearance may be increased in one portion in a manner similar to that shown at it in Fig. 3 to facilitate the insertion of the wire as will be explained. If'desired the upper corner the same sealed in a a modified form of the of base 2 may be extended somewhatinto two points 8 and 9 which will insure retention in a soft rubber connector.

To attach the connector shown in Fig. 1 to an electric wire the tongue 3 is flexed slightly and the wire from which the insulation has been removed inserted between edges 5 and 6, then head 4 is pressed into line again with the base 2 with the result that the wire will be securely gripped between the two edges, that is to say, the contact is completed before the element is inserted in the connector.

g The contact element shown in Fig. 3 is designed for connection to a wire without removing the insulation therefrom. For this reason the serrated edge 1 is provided which insures that when the head is pressed back into line with the'base 2, as above described. its .free edge 5 will force the insulation against the serrations I, the insulation will be pierced and electrical contact with the conductor established. To facilitate the connection of the wire the clearance between edges 5 and I may be enlarged in one portion sumciently so that the insulated wire will slip readily therethrough as shown at lll'in Fig. 3. After the wire has beeninserted through this enlarged portion it may be pushed sideways between edge 5 and teeth I and the connection completed as described above. a The third type of contact element is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. This differs from the contacts of Fig. 3 in that tongue 3 is bent somewhat out of the general plane of the element as shown at It so that even when the lower edge of the head 5 lies directly above edge 1 the upper edge and Still another form of contact element is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In this the tongue 3 resembles generally the tongue shown in Fig. 1 but this contact is also provided with separate tongues M which are bent slightly out from the general plane of head 4 and serve as a means for retaining the contact element in a suitably shaped recess in the same manner as corners l2 of the contact element shown in Fig. 4.

In all of these contact elements it will be noted that they are extremely rigid since I made from single pieces of metal and the outer margins remain unbroken. Also in each instance the. wire may be fully connected before the element is applied to the connector, a great convenience and distinct improvement over those I they may be 5 tact-already completed by simply pushing them into a suitable recess. All screws, rivets and other such means both for attachingthe wire to the contact element and for mounting the-element are dispensed with. Consequently no tools are required for either assembly and the most inexperienced person can perform them properly with ease. The contact elements described may be used not only in rigidconnector-bodies such as those molded from Bakelite, for example, but also in soft rubber connectors. In the latter case they may, if desired, be applied to connectors having recesses without shoulders, the elasticity of material causing the walls; of ,the recess to mold themselves around the retaining lugs and base providing in effect the shoulders referred to which will prevent the element from slipping out accidentally.

I claim: 1. An electric contact element consisting of a blade terminating at one end in-a head of greater width than said blade, the edges-of said head adjacent said bladeforming an angle of less than 90 degrees with the longitudinal axis of said blade, a flexible tongue supported by said blade the free end of which projects into an aperture in said head. so as to provide a clearance, between the edge of said free end of said tongue and one edge of said aperture, of less width than the diameter of an electrical conductor.

2 A contact element for an electrical connector consisting of a flat conducting blade provided with a longitudinal opening, a resilient tongue registering with said opening and. rigidly attached at one end to said blade, the free end of said tongue lying in the corresponding end of said opening so as to provide a clearance, be-

tween an edge of said free end of said tongue and one edge only of the corresponding end of said opening, of less width than the diameter of an electrical conductor but to otherwise substantially close said end of said opening.

' 3. A contact element for an electrical connector consisting of a flat conducting blade provided with a longitudinal opening, a resilient tongue registering with said opening and rigidly attached .at one end to said blade, the free end of said tongue lying in the corresponding end of said, opening I so as to provide a clearance, between the edge of said free end of said tongue and one edge only of the corresponding end of said opening, of less width than the diameter of an electrical conductor but to otherwise substantially close said end of said opening, said edge of said opening bein provided with serrations.

4. A contact element for an electrical connector consisting of a flat conducting blade provided with a longitudinal opening, a resilient tongue registering with said opening and rigidly attached at one end to said blade, the free end of said tongue lying in the corresponding end of said opening so as to provide a clearance, between an edge of said free end of said tongue and one edge only of the corresponding end of said opening, of less width than the diameter of an electrical conductor but to otherwise substantially close said end of said opening, said free end of said tongue being provided with serrations opposed to said edge of said opening.

5. A contact element for an electrical connector consi ting of a fiat conducting blade provided with a long tudinal opening, a resilient tongue registering with said opening and rigidly attached at one end to said blade, the free end of said tongue lying in the corresponding end of said opening so as to provide a clearance, between the edge of said free end of said tongue and one edge only of the corresponding end of said opening, of less width than the diameter of an electrical conductor but to otherwise substantially close said end of said opening, said element-also having a portion adjacent said end of said opening extending outwardly from the general plane of the blade and presenting a sharp angular edge towards the other end of said blade.

CHARLES E. GILBERT. 

